ὄλβον ἐπιπνείουσα καὶ ἠπιόχειρον ὑγείαν.Bestow whole-life blessings with each breath and the easing hand of Hygeia.

NOTES

Hestia is the immortal Goddess of the hearth and altar fire. As a virgin Goddess, she remains independent of a male consort.

“…as the [G]oddess of the sacred fire of the altar, she had a share in the sacrifices in all the temples of the [Goddesses and G]ods. (Hom. Hymn. in Ven. 31.) Hence when sacrifices were offered, she was invoked first, and the first part of the sacrifice was offered to her. (Hom. Hymn. xxxii. 5; Pind. Nem. xi. 5; Plat. Cratyl. p. 401, d.; Paus. v. 14. § 5; Schol. adAristoph. Vesp. 842; Hesych. s. v. ἀφʼ ἑστίας ἀρχόμενος.) Solemn oaths were sworn by the [G]oddess of the hearth, and the hearth itself was the sacred asylum where suppliants implored the protection of the inhabitants of the house. (Hom. Od. xiv. 159; Eustath. ad Hom. p. 1579.) A town or city…had likewise its sacred hearth, the symbol of an harmonious community of citizens and of a common worship. This public hearth usually existed in the prytaneium of a town, where the [G]oddess had her especial sanctuary (θάλαμος), under the name of Πρυτανῖτις, with a statue and the sacred hearth. There the prytanes offered sacrifices to her, on entering upon their office, and there, as at a private hearth, Hestia protected the suppliants. As this public hearth was the sacred asylum in every town, the state usually received its guests and foreign ambassadors there, and the prytanes had to act the part of hosts. When a colony was sent out, the emigrants took the fire which was to burn on the hearth of their new home from that of the mother town. (Pind. Nem. xi. 1, &c., with the Scholiast; Parthen. Erot. 18; Dion. Hal. ii. 65.) If ever the fire of her hearth became extinct, it was not allowed to be lighted again with ordinary fire, but either by fire produced by friction, or by burning glasses drawing fire from the sun. The mystical speculations of later times…assumed a sacred hearth not only in the centre of the earth, but even in that of the universe, and confounded Hestia in various ways with other divinities, such as Cybele, Gaea, Demeter, Persephone, and Artemis. (Orph. Hymn. 83; Plut. de Plac. Philos. 3, 11, Numa, 11.) There were but few special temples of Hestia in Greece, as in reality every prytaneum was a sanctuary of the [G]oddess, and as a portion of the sacrifices, to whatever divinity they were offered, belonged to her. There was, however, a separate temple of Hestia at Hermione, though it contained no image of her, but only an altar. (Paus. ii. 35. § 2.)[1]

Hestia is the first and last deity to receive libations and sacrifices at meals and public occasions. Socrates discusses Hestia’s name and honored status by explaining that (H)Estia means essence:

“Socrates: ‘Shall we, then, begin with Hestia, according to custom?’

“Hermogenes: ‘That is the proper thing.’

“Socrates: ‘ . . . those who called the essence of things essia (έσσία) would naturally sacrifice to Hestia first of all the [Goddesses and G]ods.”[2]

Kronos, the God of time, is the immortal God of the Golden Age of peace, prosperity, and justice. Kronos is the son of Ouranos (God of the Sky) and the father of Zeus (God of the spark of fire/spark of life).

Basileia means Queen, the basis of rule.

Mystae are initiates into divine mysteries.

Sulphur is what match heads were made of.[3] The flame is the bloom of sulphur.

Some chemicals, such as chloroform, boron, and copper, can produce green flame when burned. “… if thrown upon hot coals, it [chloroform] immediately ignites, diffusing much smoke, and producing a very beautiful green flame.”[4]

Hygeia is the immortal Goddess of health.

[1] William Smith. A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. London. John Murray: printed by Spottiswoode and Co., New-Street Square and Parliament Street, 1873.